The Conservative View Of Academia

April 09, 1986|By Sean Adams, The Conservative Council, Evanston.

EVANSTON — As a member of the collegiate New Right at Northwestern University, I was shocked at the March 16 column of Clarence Page which claimed that campus conservatism is much the mirror equivalent of the `60s.

Mr. Page tried to give the (routine) implication that the conservative movement is anti-Semitic, anti-black and rich. I find that nearly every member of the conservative organization at Northwestern is motivated by a deep and sincere concern for the human soul--a ``bleeding heart`` conservative if you will.

If Mr. Page could see the entrepreneurial newspapers we collegiates publish on a shoestring, or the ragged fundraising letters mailed out on the cheapest paper torn from yellow legal pads, he might not imply we are all

``well-funded.``

I agree wholeheartedly that universities should hold blind scales of justice for both left and right, but disagree that such fairness occurs. Examples such as the illegal Dartmouth shanties show that not only does the left control the academy, but is willing to use every dirty trick it can to stay in power. At Northwestern University, the disruptor of an Accuracy in Academia conservative presentation by Chairman Reed Irvine was found

``innocent`` by an in-house hearing board, even though she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in criminal court.

You can bet that the university would have given a conservative three times what he deserved for the same offense while letting the leftist off scot-free.

Mr. Page is letting off steam over college conservatives who are rolling back the issues his `60s crowd ``tried so hard to roll forward.`` I presume he thinks that the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese boat people prove his ideas valid for all time.